Over the past few days, I’ve been sending out emails to personally appeal to those closest to me to help spread the word abnout The Hockey Foundation returning to Ladakh. I want to share that with you with an appeal to help spread the word to your contacts…here it goes…

It was around this time two years ago that my friend, former colleague and USA Hockey star Angela Ruggiero sent me a random email about hockey in Ladakh. After a little investigation, the spark was lit to undertake a venture to go to one of the most remote corners of the world to share my love & passion for hockey with the intent of improving the community, as Angela and I had done for the New York Islanders in China.

The spirit of giving during the holidays allowed me to piggy-back on top of the shoulders of kind-hearted people from around North America, and a month later, I was in Ladakh at 11,500 feet above sea level, on the ice with the children. That was when the foundation was laid for The Hockey Foundation (originally “The Hockey Volunteer”).

Two years later, with a wealth of life-changing experiences behind me, I am returning to India with hockey equipment donated from more kind-hearted Americans & Canadians, as well as portable solar power donated by Goal0, a company that has its roots in non-profit work.

With that in mind, I am reaching out to you to help spread the word about The Hockey Foundation to your contacts, and appeal to the holiday spirit of giving once again. Your support will allow me to pay for transporting all of this gear to be passed along to children and adults in Ladakh, a Himalayan region in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir (yes, that Kashmir). To put into perspective what makes this region so unique, it’s one of the last vestiges of Tibetan Buddhism, yet is in a predominantly Muslim state, in a predominantly Hindu country, that is rife with corruption, poverty, sexism, religious intolerance & most recently the flood that devastated many parts of Pakistan. The work that was begun two years ago has helped bring attention to the region, and only with the support of you and those you know can the program continue to grow & succeed.

Lastly, The logo is a very personal image for me and The Hockey Foundation’s mission. To read more about the symbolism and the amazing job my friend Kevin Sterling did on the logo, please check out www.hockeyfoundation.org/logo.